NOTES AND COMMENTS 1067 



involved in connection with lookout stations, telephone construction, 

 topography and relief maps, and temporary labor. Mess kits, water- 

 bags, force-pumps, the Osborn fire-finder, maps, and especially con- 

 structed tools of various kinds were on exhibition. 



The report of Forester E. T. Allen, of the Association, shows the 

 extent of the protection work in the five Northwestern States. During 

 the past year 95,310,000 acres were under patrol by the affiliated or- 

 ganizations. The expenditures for protection amounted to $1,825,187. 

 The merchantable timber area burned over was 293,784 acres, with 

 445,822,000 feet of merchantable lumber killed, but of which only 

 131,716,000 feet were lost beyond salvage. Sixteen lives were lost and 

 property losses other than timber were estimated at $1,786,000. The 

 total cost of forest fires during the year, including expenditures and 

 losses, was nearly $4,000,000. These figures show the very marked 

 progress in forest-fire control — 1910, 1914, and 1917 were closely alike 

 in fire hazard. The loss in 1910 was about $3,000,000,000. 



The chief points discussed at the forest industry conference, which 

 was largely in the nature of a business meeting of the Association, in- 

 cluded (i) the advisability of affiliating with the National Lumber 

 Manufacturers' Association; (2) of enlarging Mr. Allen's work by 

 keeping him at the National Capital during the period of the war to 

 consult with and advise the various government officials in connection 

 with the relation of the lumber industry on war problems; (3) the im- 

 portance of urging the organization of a spruce regiment as a solution 

 of the difficulties standing in the way of meeting the government's de- 

 mands for airplane stock. It was recommended that the trustees take 

 such action as is necessary to bring these three items to a head. A very 

 able paper by Dr. Wilson Compton, of the Federal Trade Commission, 

 was read concerning the responsibility of the lumber industry in the 

 war. In this he indicated that if the lumbermen could not supply the 

 needs of the government it might be necessary for the government to 

 take over the industry. 



The Logging Congress devoted one day largel\- to logging engineer- 

 ing, including discussions on technical logging problems and to the edu- 

 cation of logging engineers. Friday was given over to a consideration 

 of general welfare work at the camps, such as accident and fire preven- 

 tion, sanitation, labor, and cook-house problems, and Saturdav an in- 

 spection trip was made over the operations of the Admiralty Logging 

 Company's camps. 



A problem of special interest to technical foresters is the emphasis 

 that was placed on the importance of increasing the use of technical 



